johnson that my duty as a p.o.w. was to resist and to resist and to resist and to resist. to my breaking point as a human being. when i hit that point, my duty was to bend a little, give some incomplete or vague information, regroup, and start anew. to resist, to resist, to resist, to resist. and to resist. . because of sam johnson's experience every u.s. military pilot who 2308s in his footsteps like me knows in our hearts if we are captured we'll never stop resisting our capriati tors and we'll always come home with honor like sam did. part of sam johnson, the sam

johnson i know can be summed up in the first sentence sam said to his fellow p.o.w.'s after they left solitary confinement. sam said, lieutenant colonel sam johnson, reporting for duty, sir. i imagine that willal p.o.w. responded to sam like this, colonel johnson, take charge and carry out the plan of the day. sam has been taking charge and carrying out the plans of the day his whole life. i wasn't there to greet sam when he came home 40 years ago, but i'll say it to my friend now, welcome home, sam. welcome home. i yield back. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman from from sugarland, texas, for

his insightful words. you pointed out, mr. olson, they spent four years in prisoner of war camp. during that four years he didn't talk to another american for four years. he could tap on the wall. contact them. codes they had developed over the numerous years they had all been in confinement. they tapped out the names of the other prisoners, the 374 other prisoners that had been in the hanoi hilton at one time, they all memorized the 11, the alcatraz gang, they memorized those names because they all expected they were going to escape and get back and be able to tell those families who had come into the camp. remarkable story. i now field to the gentleman from texas, mr. roger williams. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. williams: i'm honored to stand here today and say a few words about one of my personal heroes and friends and one of america's great yoss patriots, sam johnson. this month is cause for

celebration as it marks 40 years, this nearly 600 american p.o.w.'s, including congressman johnson's set foot for soil after seven years. many of us could endure it for seven years, much less unbreakable strength, unpend ending faith in god, and constant hope this incredible man has. his captors named a die-hard, one of the few p.o.w.'s who refused to give in and cooperate with their anti-american propaganda. his fellow american prissness knew him as a leader, one whose spirit could not be broken whether he was in leg stocks or solitary confinement for four years, and his family knew him as their hero. a man who loved sofinge his country and was willing to sacrifice his life in defense of freedom. i'm honored to know him as a friend, through his 29 years in

the air force he earned many distinguished recommendations awards, and merits. for those who had the pleasure of sitting at the dinner table with sam, you know those years were also filled with laughter and antics. after all he did fly with the legendary thunder birds before the f.a.a. existed. men were like sam were what made our military great and country the greatest force on earth. he's filled a remarkable legacy with his lifelong service to america, great state of texas, and most important his family and loved ones. colonel johnson, thank you for your service to our country, for your example to us all. i'd like to remind people, america doesn't give because it's rich, it it's rich because it gives. a good measure be given to you, put in your lap the measure you give will be the measure you get back. sam, you gave it all to us and you deserve everything that happens to you. may god bless you and may god

bless our troops. thanks you. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman. now yield to the gentleman from lubbock, texas, randy neugebauer. mr. neugebauer: i thank the gentleman and it's indeed an honor and privilege for me to participate in this recognition of our colleague, but more importantly my friend, sam johnson. when i got to congress, get to know people, particularly because sam was in the texas delegation, you know people started, do you know sam's story? and they would begin to tell me a few things about sam johnson. so some of the things that you're hearing tonight are things you would have never heard from sam johnson because sam doesn't talk about what he does. he just goes about doing the right thing. in fact he's got a history of serving this country. when you think about sam johnson, you think about service. you know a lot of people serve, sam has served our military,

served in our texas house, and now in the united states congress, not everybody serves with equal sacrifice. when you think about sam johnson's life, you think about sacrifice t what i learned about sam was an interesting trip i took with then speaker of the house, denny hastert. we flew to vietnam to be one of the first delegations to have a speaker of the house be in vietnam since the end of the vietnam war. so i decided on that way on that trip that i would read sam's book, all the way over there i read sam's book. and it was just by fate that i read the last page as we landed in hanoi. tears streaming down my eyes as i had been on this journey that sam takes you through with his book of sacrifice, pain, but also a man that had faith. it was his faith that he relied

on on a daily basis and his commitment to his country, commitment to those who were with him and the fortitude he showed of taking those daily, sometimes beatings and this quietness of solitude. as we landed there and i was thinking about sam and thinking then spending seven years in those conditions, then coming back home, as you read that book what you also know is another hero and sam would tell you he would be quick to point out and that was his wife, shirley, who never gave up hope, never gave up on sam because she knew the sam johnson we have been talking about tonight, she knew that sam wouldn't go down easy. sam, we are so proud of you and so glad to serve with you. and i -- one of the memorable points of that trip is just a few months before that sam himself had traveled back to hanoi the first time since he

left. and he signed the guest book just a few pages over. sam johnson, pack again, where i spent seven years of my life. it was an honor for me to sign just a few pages over, for a great american hero, more importantly, for a great friend. god bless you, sam johnson. and god bless the united states of america. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman. i ask the speaker how much time do i have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 17 minutes remaining. mr. poe: i thank the speaker. i yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. blake farenthold. mr. farenthold: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, congressman poe. i'm honored today to stand up here to honor the bravery and commit many that congressman sam johnson has shown this contry. sam lived through an experience that would bring even the toughest soler -- soldier to his knee. he was in the air force 29 years and was a prisoner of war for

seven after his f-4 plane went down, was gunned down in north vietnam. now said who years after -- 40 years after he was release interested captivity, we celebrate his freedom. he was beaten and tortured and kept in a small cell yet he refused to give up or disclose any information to the enemy. the sacrifice and peril that sam went through is on the heart of every one man and woman who commits themselves to soist armed forces. sam and his family just suffered a tragic personal loss. i have notes here, you can read about sam and his accomplishments and his heroics on the internet or better yet, buy the book. i want to talk for a minute about my experience, slightly over two years i have been in this house serving with sam. there is nobody that has the respect of this congress the way

sam johnson does. i don't know a single person on either side of the aisle that doesn't appreciate sam's service and sacrifice and hold him in the highest esteem. and that's saying something when we are serving in the body that's constantly bickering, that has anle% approval rate -- an 8% approval rating, all of us who serve were half the man sam johnson is, we would have a 100% approval rating here in congress. i'm honored to serve with sam i thank him for his service though that seems too little for what he has done and given up for this contry. i am proud to call him a friend. god bless you, sam. god bless texas. god bless the u.s.a. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman for his comments. mr. speaker, i yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. steve stockman. mr. stockman: when i got here 18

years ago, i first got here i started looking at different people's voting patterns. i didn't know which way to go or whatever. all i know sam private the way he is public. privately sam, you are a hard core american patriot. i started to learn a lot from him. but reading your history and what you did, i just can't imagine being in that confinement for that period of time. it seems like it would be beyond what anybody could take. yet time and time again you stood up and there was only 11 of you that resisted the torture and resisted the torture the vietnamese which broke every geneva convention protocol. and sam in this area and what you served and our nation, i understand i think it was five

rows across and five rows down. so a.a. would be tap tap. b would be tap tap tap. they would do the alphabet that way. they would tap out at night. that's all the communication they had. and serving with sam and watching sam go through his service and his commitment to the american people, i don't know if we actually read all of his medals, but you have -- he has two silver stars, two legions of merit, distinguished flying cross, bronze stars with combat valor, two purple hearts, four air medals, three air force outstanding unit. and also awarded for prisoner of medal award. that's one individual having all those medals. he served our nation and our country, continues to serve our nation and country. i'm honored to serve with sam.

at this time when he's lost his son, you are in our prayers. god bless you. thank you for offering an opportunity to say a little bit on behalf of sam. thank you. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman. i now yield to mr. bill flores from texas. mr. flores: i thank the gentleman from texas for organizing this very special evening. mr. speaker, i rise today to express my deepest admiration and respect for congressman sam johnson. tonight americans have heard many accolades for and compliments dedicated to sam johnson, and i'm not going to repeat those of my comments. rather i want to say our country needs more sam johnsons during these difficult times. we need more persons like sam to bravely move and serve in our country's military today. we need more persons like sam to serve as statesmen.

we need more people like sam who put principle ahead of politics or personal game. we need more persons like sam to be knightly gentlemen in an unstable society. we need more persons like sam who are devoted husbands and loving fathers. mr. speaker, america needs more heroes like sam johnson. i pray that america continues to produce men and women, strength, and perseverance and character like sam johnson. god bless sam, his wife, and his family. in particular we remember their son, bob johnson, this evening. i'm honored and humbled and i say deeply humbled to serve with my good friend from texas, congressman sam johnson. thank you. i yield back. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman for his comments. mr. speaker, sam johnson is a remarkable individual. the nickname that the north vietnamese gave him of die-hard,

he's still that way. he's hard core. he is opinionated and he can back up everything he says. but that's a good thing. he does represent the best that we have in this country. his military background. we have in the house of representatives members of congress, both sides, that have served in our military, all branches, in the reserves, national guard, they served in world war ii. they served in korea and vietnam, like sam jonson. they served in both iraqi wars, afghanistan war, and they are still serving today. we have members who have lost their limbs for this country while on active duty serving this country. . and sam johnson is among that elite that have represented america, the flag, and our country, when our country needed our military.

he's married, three kids, we now know that one of them died recently, and he has 10 grandkids. he served in the war, the second war, not the korean war, the vietnamese war, came back home, americans didn't treat our war veterans from vietnam very well. they were treated real bad, in fact. some of our american troops when they came back home from serving vietnam wouldn't wear the uniform because americans would ridicule them for what the country asked them to do. and america has learned since vietnam, we treat our warriors a lot better now. we treat them like they ought to be treated when they come back home from iraq, afghanistan, and other parts of the world. our warriors from vietnam didn't get the appropriate welcome back and as already mentioned, tonight we welcome back one of

them. we welcome back colonel sam johnson, united states air force, reporting for duty, after spending seven years in a prisoner of war camp, four years in solitary confinement, as i pointed out, nine foot by three foot, for four year, 24 hours a day, leg irons at night, taken out in the daytime and beaten, never broke. die hard. never gave. in he was never broken. remarkable individual. these americans who serve and wear the uniform. rare breed. but it's the american breed. and that's what makes us free, those people, those remarkable people, who wear the uniform and serve and serve overseas and serve in prisoner of war camps, if necessary. so we thank sam johnson, we thank all who have served and are serving today for their service to our great country,

especially tonight we welcome home sam johnson of the united states air force. i yield back the remainder of my time. that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from nevada, mr. horford, is recognized as the designee of the minority leader. mr. horford: thank you, mr. speaker, i ask that all members be given five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a statement by the honorable eddie bernice johnson of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's request is covered by general leave.

pllhorford: the congressional black caucus is pleased to sponsor this hour and i am here with ms. marcia fudge, i yield to her such time as is necessary. ms. fudge: thank you, as well as mr. jeffries, for anchoring the c.b.c. hour. it is wonderful to have new members come to the house floor and do the work we have been doing so long, i am so proud of them so appreciative of the work they do. thank you very much. mr. speaker, i rise today to send a clear message to those who would seek to undermine our constitutional right to vote. you will not win. the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong.

this is not the first time section five of the voting rights act has been challenged and it's likely not going to be the last. members of the congressional black caucus and others, including those on the other side of the aisle, have work tods re-authorize section five. in a matter of days, the supreme court will review the constitutionality of section five. if the supreme court does not ultimately decide to protect the uninhibited right to vote for all voters, no matter their race, the court will not and must not have the last word on this matter. the 15th amendment provides that the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or any state on account of race, color, or previous servitude. despite the passage of the 15th amendment and ratity nation by the -- ratification by the state, congress has been forced

to act in order to protect african-american voters from violence and intimidation. prior to the voting rights act, the court's attempts to protect voters proved inadequate. in 1965, at the height of the civil rights movement, when vicious dogs and poll taxes were used to block the ballot, congress passed the voting rights act this law was necessary then and the last two federal elections have shown without a shadow of a doubt that section 5 remains essential today. the right to vote is among the most important rights we enjoy as americans. because of this -- because of its important, because of the power behind the vote, it is the one right most often compromised. and for the same reasons, it is a right that we must do everything in our -- everything in our power to protect. martin luther king jr. once said, and i quote, so long as i do not firmly and irrev kaably

possess the right to vote -- and irrevocably possess the right to vote, i do not possess myself. end quote. as the supreme court prepares to hear arguments in this case, we must remember the words of dr. king and section five. since 1992, approximately 100 discriminatory voting changes have been blocked. after the mid terms, eight of the states part of the former confederacy passed new restrictions. they require photo i.d., proof of citizenshipmark cut back on early voting an several disenfranchised ex-offenders. these laws are specifically designed to make it more difficult for minorities and other traditionally marginalized eligible voters to participate

in the electoral process. this was not restricted to votes with a history of voter discrimination. in my home state of ohio and a variety of other states not covered by section 5 there were attempts to pass restrictive laws leading up to the 2012 elections. 22 laws and two executive actions were restricting voting rights were passed in 20 states. the federal government should be doubling down on the voting rights act by expanding and strengthening federal protections. the long lines in florida and the voting scams in arizona were no coincidence. section five is as necessary today as it was on the date of its inception in 1965 and should include more states and jurisdictions and i queeled back. the speaker pro tempore: thank you, chairwoman fudge. we look forward to your lead -- >> thank you, chairwoman fudge,

we look forward to your leadership in this and other issues. i now yield to the distinguished member from north carolina, representative -- mr. butterfield. mr. butterfield: i thank the gentleman for yielding time and thank the chair of the congressional black caucus for convening this special hour tonight. as many colleagues know, before being elected to congress eight years ago, i was a trial judge and appellate judge in my home state. but before that, i spent considerable time litigating cases under the voting rights act and presenting comments to the department of justice in section five cases. so many people do not understand section five. it does not apply in every

jurisdiction in america but only to selected counties where there was evidence of discriminatory voting practices when the voting rights act was first enacted in 1965. these jurisdictions are required to submit to the department of justice any changes in election law or procedure for derges of whether the change could have a negative impact on the voting strength of minority groups. if the jurisdiction fails in their proof, the change is not allowed. and i will say for the record today that in the early days of section five, many jurisdictions ignored their requirements. it has been proven, mr. speaker, time and time again in courtrooms across america that racially polarized voting has existed at the ballot box since the 15th amendment was ratified and it exists today. my congressional district in north carolina, though it is improving, continues to have voting based on the race of the

candidate. many white voters choose not to vote for candidate -- for a candidate who is clearly the preferred candidate of the african-american community. when this happens, the black couldn't is -- community is handcapped and we call it vote dilution -- handicapped and we call it vote dilution. section five's clause is to make it more difficult for the african-american community to elect the candidate of its choice taking into consideration racially charged voting. i can cite dozens of instances where discriminatory changes were propose and the department of justice stepped forward and denid change. had it not been for section 5, black electoral success in my district would be considerably less. many of the cities and counties in my district now have single member election districts ordered by the courts.

the courts have required that some of these districts have a majority african-american district which now eneable the african-american community to elect candidates of their choice. eliminate -- elimination of section 5 could enable mischievous jurisdictions to eliminate district elections in favor of at-large elections where consen trages of black voters would be absorbed into at-large areas. the time has now come when we should eliminate the protection of section 5. the evidence continues to suggest racially polarized voting that discriminates against the african-american community. if this protection is struck down, some governing boards at the state and local level will seize the opportunity to promulgate election rules that discrang -- disadvantage minority voters and the only remedy then will be to file an expensive federal lawsuit and prove intentional discrimination in the district court. so, mr. speaker, i urge the

supreme court to carefully look at the legislative history we have provided and decide to maintain the protection of section 5. again, i thank the gentleman from nevada for his friendship and his leadership and thank you for working to make this hour happen tonight. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. butterfield. we again appreciate your leadership as the vice chairman of the congressional black caucus and look forward to working under your leadership as well as chairwoman fudge. at this time, i now yield to my colleague and friend the distinguished member from new jersey representative payne jr. mr. payne: thank you. mr. speaker, i want to thank my good friend and colleagues congressman horseford of nevada, congressman jeffries of new york for anchoring tonight's c.b.c. special order on the voting rights act. fair and equal access to the

ballot box is an important topic. and one of these that has not been fully resolved. 150 years ago, president lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation but it took another 100 years to pass the civil rights act and eventually the voting rikets act of 1965. since then our country has made progress in achieving justice and equality but it is no secret this process has been painfully slow and noticeably deficient. the supreme court will hear this case this week, shelby vs. holder. which it ruled in the favor of shelby count -- if ruled in the favor of shelby county, alabama, would take us back 50 years and undo protections granted in the voting rights act. some argue we no longer need some of these protections provided in the voting rights act. some argue we have achieved

equality and justice for all. some argue that section five is outdated because racism has been eviscerated. it is true we've come a long way and times have changed. but the unfortunate fact is we have not changed enough. let's look at the facts. this past november, people across this nation had to wait in line to vote for hours in places such as miami, tampa, richmond, charlotte, andra league. -- and raleigh. sometimes people waited six, seven, or eight hours to exercise their fundamental right to vote. in the president's state of the union address, president obama had a guest a woman by the name of desilene victor who waited six hours in florida to vote, she was 102 years old.

this is simply unacceptable and unfortunately, long voting lines have become all too common place, particularly in urban and minority-rich areas. . the big question i get asked from my constituents, why wouldn't we want everyone who is eligible have the opportunity to vote? the answer is simple. would more americans vote, they tend to vote for democrats. regardless of someone's political persuasions, every eligible american should have the fair opportunity to cast their ballot. whether they be white, black, asian, latino, man, woman, gay, straight, protestant, catholic, atheist, or agnostic. because of the simple fact we are all americans and voting is

a fundamental right in this contry. this is about preserving democracy and eliminating section 5 would undermine that right upon which this country was founded. this past year, 37 state legislatures shamelessly passed laws that oftentimes targeted minorities and attempted to limit their access to the ballot. strict photo i.d. laws, limitations on early voting, and stringent voter registration laws all had one purpose, it wasn't about reducing fraud, it was about preventing certain populations from voting. it is astonishing and it could not be more evident that racism and the effort to suppress the right to vote is alive and well in this nation. luckily section 5 rightly ensures that many of these laws never pass preclearance.

so it cannot be plainer than now is the time to strengthen not weaken section 5 as it still serves as a very real and critical purpose in preserving our democracy and the right to vote for millions. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. horsford: thank you, representative payne jr., we appreciate your remarks. i now yield to the distinguished member from maryland, representative cummings, who is the ranking member on the house oversight and government reform committee, the committee that has jurisdiction on voting reform issues, for as much time as the distinguished member requires. mr. cummings: thank you very much. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i also take this moment to thank the congressional black caucus for making this happen. i thank representatives horsford

and jeffreys for leading this. it is white encouraging and i know that our chairman agrees with me when we see our new members come to the forefront and lead. that's why our constituents sent us here and i just want you to know that we are very, very, very proud of you, as we are -- i -- our new member, mr. peap, who just spoke, we are certainly glad you are here an leading. you know we all know our nation's disgraceful history in this area of voting rights. i have often said that if we did not have the voting rights act, this past few years have taught us that we would have to invent it. but decades and decades, racists and excluesary voting practices kept minorities from accessing

the ballot box. i'm reminded of my great, great grandfather. in the south carolina of 1868, he overcame tremendous hardships and life threatening dangers just to register to vote only a few years after he had come out of slavery. sadly this country has witnessed very slow progress toward equality in voting. the reality is that in the year 2013 we are still fighting for the right to vote for all americans. in election after election, discriminatory voting laws and exclusionary practices still surface. this past election cycle we saw a new wave of efforts to suppress the vote. we saw racially motivated efforts to cut back on early

voting. we saw physical destruction of voter registration forms across the country we saw eligible voters prevented from casting their ballots because of long lines, inaccurate voter records, and poorly trained poll workers. as the ranking member of the committee on oversight and government reform, i launched an investigation last year into the actions of true the vote. a tea party organization that claims to promote, quote voter intelling grit tshtsh integrity efforts. in fact true to vote sought to make it harder for americans to vote. they challenged the registration of thousands of legitimate voters across the country before election day. and they deployed volunteers across the country to challenge access to the polls for legitimate voters. efforts by groups like true to

vote, this unfortunately affect minority constituents and they are one small example of the practices that still seeks to suppress the vote in our country. voting rights act is often cited as the most effective civil rights law in our history. section 5 has been one of the most powerful tools in the act because it combats discriminatory attempts to marginalize voters before they can take root. when president lynnon johnson signed the voting rights act of 1965, he said this, and i quote, there were those who said smaller and more gradual measures should be tried, but they have been tried. for years and years they have been tried and tried and tried. and they have failed and failed and failed. and the time for failure is gone, end of quote. so in closing i hope the supreme

court justices remember these words as they consider it the most recent challenge to section 5 of the voting rights act. today in the year 2013, section 5 remains as critical as ever to protecting the right to vote in the united states of america. with that i yield back. mr. horsford: thank you, representative cummings. i know under your leadership as the ranking member of the house committee on oversight and government reform, the issue of voting rights will continue to be a top priority in this congress. mr. cummings: absolutely right. thank you. mr. horsford: mr. president, i now -- excuse me, mr. speaker, i now yield to the distinguished member from maryland, our whip, mr. hoyer. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: thank you, mr.

speaker. mr. speaker, steve and i were both in the senate and you have a president in the senate and that's where he's referring to you as mr. president. i am pleased to join marcia fudge, the chairman of the congressional black caucus, and my good friend, steve horsford, the gentleman from nevada, and i noticed that don payne is here, his father was a very close friend of mine, active some 45 years ago. it's good to see you don. two of our great new members. i want to thank the congressional black caucus for organizing this special order. america's greatest strength and its greatest gift to the world is our democratic system of government based on an equal voice for every citizen.

it is what grants legitimacy to our laws and earns us respect from those in other parts of the world whoern for the freedoms -- who yearn for the freedoms we enjoy. for most of our history our democracy was deeply flawed. including women, african-americans, native americans, and many others. but part of what makes america great is that we are constantly working to perfect our democracy by correcting such flaws. the voting rights of 1965 was a central part of that effort. and an incredibly successful one. before that legislation was enacted, millions of fren fringes were systematically prevented from registering to vote for casting their ballots across much of the south. i would venture to say that there were other parts of america on where they were dissuaded from voting as well.

poll taxes, grandfather clauses, literacy tests, and other in fairous devices were employed to keep americans from exercising their most fundamental civil rights. perhaps the greatest impetus for enacting the voting rights act was the horrific violence and hatred of bloody sunday. when peaceful civil rights marchers were beaten and turned back at the edmund pettus bridge outside selma, alabama. mr. speaker, this weekend a number of us here will be traveling to selma, led by the same man who helped organize those 1965 marches, our friend and colleague, john lewis. an extraordinary historic figure. extraordinary gentle man. but a giant of courage and principle. we are going as part of an annual pilgrimage. remember that day, bloody

sunday, march 7, 1965, and the cause for which those brave americans, black and white, risked their lives for political equality and the perfection of our democracy. mr. speaker, i have been privileged to walk with john lewis across that bridge and others, including at least two presidents, for 10 out of the 13 times that john lewis has re-acted that walk. walking in their footsteps is one way to honor that cause. but it is far from the best way. the best way to do it is to carry on their work, to defend and promote the protections included in the voting rights act that they fought so hard to bring about. on wednesday, mr. speaker, the supreme court will hear arguments in shelby county vs. holbrook. which challenges the constitutionality of one of the voting rights act's central

provisions, that is preclearance. making sure that the justice department says yes this is fair. yes, this will not exclude. yes, this is a policy that will be consistent with our democracy. preclearance established by section 5 of the act mandates that jurisdictions with long history of voter suppression and civil rights violations must submit to the justice department for approval any plans to change their election practices or district boundaries before doing so. section 5 has been instrumental in ending discrimination and protecting eligible voters at the polls. the constitutionality is rooted in article 1 and has been working as intended for nearly half a century. at a time when we are hearing about problems voters faced all over the country in last november's election, with long lines, registration errors,

voting machines that malfunctioned, and deceptive practices, we ought to be working together to make the voting rights act stronger not weaker. i will continue along with my colleagues to stand up for the voting rights act on this floor and in every forum of debate. those who march to selma or braved the dangers of the freedom rides did not do so in vain. their legacy is our responsibility. a more perfect democracy they helped forge is ours to safeguard. not only for our sake but for the sake of those who will inherit our democracy and generations to come. mr. speaker, i'm proud to join my colleagues and the congressional black caucus in strong support of section 5 of the voting rights act. the rest of it as well. as it faces meritless challenges this week that i am confident

will be surmounted. again in closing, my part of these -- this special order, i want to congratulate steve horsford. congressman horsford from nevada. he's new to this body, but he's not new to legislative representation. he understands the legislative process very, very well. and it is appropriate as one of his first special orders on this floor is on behalf of every american, not just black americans, notous hispanic americans, not just disabled americans, every american because if one american's right to vote is compromised, there will be a risk for all americans that their vote will be compromised. i thank my friend, congressman horsford, and yield him back the balance of my time. .

mr. horsford: thank you, mr. hoyer, as our whip, you have provided a strong and -- strong and articulate voice on these and other issues. question look forward to continuing to work with you as we move forward to protect that most fundamental of all right the right to vote. i now yield to my co-anchor mitigating circumstance colleague as a freshman member in this 113th congress, i am pleased to be working with him as one of the co-anchors for the congressional black caucus and bringing these important issues to all of our constituents throughout this great country, the distinguished member from new york, representative hakim jeffries, as much time as the allows. mr. jeffries: let me thank the distinguished gentleman from the silver state, my good friend and colleague, representative horsford, for anchoring the c.b.c. special order. i also want to thank chairwoman

marcia fudge for the tremendous leadership she's continued to provide and of course to our whip, steny hoyer, for her eloquence and leadership on this and many other issues on behalf of this great country of ours. it is my honor and privilege to co-anchor this special order, this hours -- hour of power, where members of the congressional black caucus have the opportunity to speak directly to the american people today on an issue of great importance as it relates to the integrity of our democracy. perhaps there's no more fund amountal issue to preserving the integrity of the great democracy we have here in america than the right to vote. the right to vote is something that should be cherished, something that should be protected, something that should be respected, but the right to vote has not always been treated

in this fashion, in this republic of ours. in the founding of this country, we know, of course that african-americans were largely excluded from being able to participate in our democracy. as a result of the conditions of their enslavement. in 1869, as congress came together and sent to the state for ratification the 15th amendment to the united states constitution, an amendment that was designed to remedy the situation related to the failure to meaningfully include african-americans in our democracy. it was designed to provide constitutional protection, to limit the ability of states, to disenfranchise individuals on the basis of race, color or

prior conditions of servitude. yet we understand that for about 100 years subsequent to the passage and ratification of the 15th amendment to the united states -- united states constitution, it was largely evaded in many parts of america. as a result of legislative schemes that were devised to prohibit or limit the ability of african-americans and other communities of co-already to participate in our democracy. these legislate i schemes took many forms, some have already called the names, poll taxes and grandfather clauses and literacy tests. legislate i schemes devised to limit the ability of

african-americans and others to participate in this glorious democracy of ours. a large part of it took place in the deep south but there were instances of this all over america. mr. speaker, that is why the congress came back in the midst of the turbulent era of the 1960's and passed the 1965 voting rights act. which included a section five provegs that was designed to require those covered jurisdictions, or jurisdictions, parts of 16 state, get approval from either the department of justice or a three-judge federal court panel here in washington, d.c. whenever any of these

jurisdictions sought to change a law. with respect to voting. the rationale was section five preclearance requirement was because in these covered jurisdictions there was a history of discrimination as it related to the franchise. deliberate schemes designed to limit the ability of american citizens to participate in our democracy and as a result of this history, the section five preclearance requirement was put into place. and it has worked. over the close to five decades that it has been in effect. it is perhaps the most successful piece of civil rights legislation that this congress has passed. now as a result of its success,

there are some who have contending that it is no longer a relevant provision of law and that when the congress came together in bipartisan fashion in 2006 to re-authorize this provision, that this body, the house of representatives and the senate, which passed the re-authorization, 98-0, democrats and republicans, the contention is that this body exceeded its constitutional authority because section five allegedly, according to the defenders of disenfranchisement, is no longer relevant. now in the aftermath of barack obama's historic election in 2008, there was a supreme court case involving austin, texas, i believe, in 2009, that was heard just a few months after his

inauguration. and part of the argument that was made in that supreme court case by those who sought to invalidate section five's preclearance requirement was that as a result of this historic election of brauksbrauks, race seems no longer to be an issue in america. and they pointed to the elevation of barack obama to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. now of course that was -- that was an extremely important moment in the history of our republic. it was a substantial step forward. but the reality is that the election of barack obama has also served to illustrate that in america, there's still some issues of race that we've got to

confront. it's interesting because if you look at the election of presidents since the passage of the 1965 voting rights act, it's unprecedented in the aftermath of president obama's election to have seen the level of voter suppression laws and efforts that we were forced to confront in this country. these efforts presumably are based on the thin claim that those who are advancing these laws are trying to guard against fraud. no evidence of fraud but those who are advancing these voter suppression laws, attempting to forward against fraud. but when you look at the record what's fascinating is when

richard nixon was elected in 1968, there was no explosion of concern for alleged fraud. he was re-elected in 1972, no explosion of concern for alleged fraud. and then jimmy carter is elected in 1976. no explosion of concern for alleged fraud. and then ronald reagan is elected in 1980 and re-elected in 1984, no explosion of concern for alleged fraud. george h.w. bush elected in 1988, no explosion of concern of alleged fraud. bill clinton, elected in 1992, re-elected in 1996. and no explosion of concern for

alleged fraud. george w. bush, elected, some would argue under questionable circumstances, given the dynamics in the great state of florida, but again, no explosion of concern related to alleged fraud. the same was true in 2004, notwithstanding some concern in the great state of ohio, no explosion of concern for alleged fraud. yet, barack obama is elected in 2008 and all of a sudden in the aftermath of this historic election, there's an outrage of -- an outbreak of concern, a

pandemic of anxiety as it relates to the fraud that allegedly is taking place in america. and so as this chart illustrates, it is a wonderful chart, prepared by the brennan center of justice, in my home state of new york, connected to my alma mater, new york university, it illustrates that since 2001, 41 states introduced 180 restrictive las. those states are illustrated by the red. parenthetically, a curious choice of colors but those straits -- states are illustrated by the red on the map. 41 states introduced 180 restrictive laws. and then you have 34 states

introduce photo identification requirements. 17 states introduced proof of citizenship requirements. 16 states introduced bills to limit registration and nine states introduced bills to limit or reduce early voting periods. unprecedented in the history of our democracy. i just went through the election of several presidents who were inaugurated post the 1965 voting rights act. but for some reason the american people are smart enough to draw cause and effect when this president was elected. we had an outbreak of concern related to alleged fraud.

now, thankfully, the voting rights act and section five was in place to do something about it. i just talked about the fact that there were 41 states that the -- states that introduced some form of voter restriction. on this map, we see that as of october, in 2012, there were 25 laws and two executive actions that were passed in a total of 19 states. a large amount of this activity, as you can see, on this map. mr. speaker. took place in the deep south. and in texas. states that are largely